This year reflects more than just the eternal pandemic of 2020. Real estate continued to be the topic of the day in the Hudson Valley, sparking local conversation, legislation, and sports (SNL’s hilarious film sketch on Zillow porn in February may have hit a bit too close to home).
In 2021, the pandemic-fueled home buying frenzy that began in 2020 has only accelerated. Rising home prices and record high inventories have created an even tighter market, pushing aside many potential buyers and raising concerns about affordable housing across the region. The average selling price of a single-family home in Kingston has jumped almost $ 100,000 in a single year, from $ 216,000 in 2020 to $ 312,000 in 2021, for example.
“There is a desperation in finding a home, because it’s not an easy task for someone to buy a home right now,” said agent Angela Briante of Briante Realty Group, which covers the county. from Putnam. “They’re usually faced with multiple offers and lots of cash offers. “
Real estate was a big part of our coverage in 2021, and response to those stories indicated it was a priority among readers as well. Here’s a look back at the real estate scene and the best stories in the Hudson Valley this year.
Millennials frozen out of a hot market
Jessica Mann, 32, was renting in Stone Ridge with her partner while they searched for a home to buy in Ulster County.
Courtesy of Jessica MannThe process of buying a home is daunting enough. But for millennials, who are both the largest generation and the highest percentage of first-time home buyers right now, the path to homeownership seemed incredibly out of reach, especially in the Hudson Valley, where last year Hudson and Kingston became metro stations. experiencing the greatest influx of relocations in the countryside.
“I don’t know the number anymore,” Elizabeth Carey said of the number of times she and her partner Zac, 33, have bid on asking price for homes between $ 175,000 and $ 200,000, but were far from competitive. “It must have been eight or nine offers and each one was turned down.”
Affordable housing is hard to find
Peter Finken, Heidi Washburn and Angelina Sotz Choc (L to R) all struggled to find affordable rentals in the Kingston and Woodstock areas.
Lisa phillipsBuying a house here is difficult. Finding affordable housing to rent doesn’t get any easier. Three residents at different stages of their lives shared their individual struggles to find affordable rental housing in Kingston and Woodstock (above) during a tense real estate market.
Meanwhile, record-breaking vacancy rates in Dutchess County have compressed the rental market there, and various towns – from Hudson to New Paltz to Newburgh – have explored so-called Good Cause eviction laws to protect the tenants of an unjust uprooting.
And senior Pine Plains tenants have been told they need to buy their rental for $ 300,000 or move out this winter so the resort can expand. “The daughter of one of the tenants … was just beside herself because her father, who was 85, had just received this letter saying he had 90 days to buy his place at a really ridiculous price, or he had to go, ”said Darrah Cloud, the supervisor of Pine Plains Town.
Cities try to limit Airbnbs, short-term rentals
Modern cabin in upstate, Red Hook, New York: See the list here.
The City of Red Hook is exploring a licensing system that allows homeowners to list their properties on short-term rental sites like Airbnb.
AirbnbRed Hook has joined other towns in the Hudson Valley this year to explore legal options to restrict and regulate short-term rentals like Airbnbs, primarily in an effort to keep the housing stock affordable and occupied by residents. all year. Woodstock voted this year for a moratorium on new Airbnbs; the city already required permits and is limiting the number of permits available. The village of Rhinebeck, the city of Milan and others in the region are considering or have implemented similar permit requirements and regulations.
“I don’t think short-term rentals are the total problem,” said Woodstock Town supervisor Bill McKenna. “But I think it exacerbates a problem we’ve had in Woodstock for a long time – it takes affordable rental housing off the market.
New developments
A new main street in Brewster – imagined here in architectural renderings shared by the village – would aim to attract New York commuters.
Tecton ArchitectsReal estate wasn’t just about single-family homes. Many large-scale developments have been announced this year – for housing, hospitality and industry – and in some places have been resisted by locals. A group of residents of the Catskills community of Durham are suing the city over a real estate development project, while some residents of the city of Dover fight against a hotel development project on a 250-acre farm which they believe could harm to the environment.
The residents of Millbrook, meanwhile, have managed to quell a New York City restaurateur’s efforts to turn Migdale Castle into an upscale resort.
The December announcement of the new iPark 87 near Kingston is developer National Resources’ latest effort to reinvent millions of square feet of former Hudson Valley business parks into centers of the future, movie studios in Fishkill to the establishment of a suburban village at Brewster. (above).
Hot house trends
This 1,500 square foot storage barn in the Hudson Valley designed by Worrell Yeung is a dark, contemporary tinsel to the traditional structures of the property and the area.
Magda BiernatWhite farms once widely dotted the rural Hudson Valley landscape, but by 2021 black-painted homes and businesses have become the new normal. “It needed something striking because it’s in an open landscape, and I knew a dark color would look beautiful in an open setting,” said Amanda Pays, interior designer and wife of actor Corbin Bernsen, who chose to paint their Germantown home in Benjamin Moore. Deep River to create a moody atmosphere.
Crowds of LA and other West Coast residents have increasingly flocked to the Hudson Valley this year to escape wildfires and in search of rural life, realtors have reported. region. “The 415, 310, 213 [telephone] exchanges – just over half of my buyers are now from the West Coast, ”said Dale Stewart, real estate agent.
And to appeal to a shifting style of homebuyer in the Hudson Valley, some new developers have looked to modernize country homes here to cater to New York-based home hunters. Goodbye clapboards, hello window walls.
Real estate escape
A 10-acre island and its pair of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed houses are listed for almost $ 10 million.
Courtesy of Douglas Elliman Real EstateThe upscale ads have garnered widespread reader interest, whether it’s an ’80s pop star motel for sale, a famous actor’s Catskills estate, or a private island with two homes. inspired by iconic American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (above).
Here are a few more splashy lists that provided a transport escape hatch for readers in a pandemic year:
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